Page 54 of No Potions Needed

“Pizza?” I offered.

“Yeah,” Othoni nodded. “Pizza will do. I gotta shift for a while or I’m going to start licking myself in this form.”

He gave into his jaguar and was a million pounds lighter as soon as he had four paws. At least, that’s what his jaguar sighed over our mating link as he set to work licking his toe beans while Mori and I discussed what to get on the pizza. When that was taken care of I grabbed his brush. He surrendered to the soft bristles of the brush, scratching and soothing away his cat’s irritation. In this form, his pregnancy was twice as evident which meant I gave him twice as many belly rubs.

“It’s hard to imagine our baby is still so small with how poofy your belly is,” I said, choosing my words carefully. He purred as I stroked his fur with my fingers. Mori watched, his expression unreadable. Was he wondering about our baby? His true-mate? Or his parents back home about to have him another younger sibling? I didn’t ask. We invaded his privacy often enough to keep him from hitting the floor all alone. He deserved to keep some thoughts to himself at least.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Othoni

The postcard men must have been taking their time because they still hadn’t kidnapped Mori by the time my pregnancy was half done. I crossed my fingers, toes, and eyes, hoping that they wouldn’t decide to steal him while I was belly up on the sofa half-naked while Doctor Leem took a look at Baby Zinnia.

“Will we find out today?” Teddy asked him, leaning over the back of the sofa.

I’d heard so many horror stories about first-time sires trying to eat the doctors who tried to care for their true-mates. Teddy hadn’t tried to take a bite out of Jacob. I wondered if it was because they had a past or if Teddy’s dragon understood the nature of the situation. I almost asked but decided against bringing up their past hookups. While Teddy and I talked about our previous sex lives with the mundanity one might talk about the bread they buy, I knew everyone wasn’t like that. Hell, I wasn’t even comfortable with that when I first met Teddy.

“Probably,” the doctor nodded, taking his portable machine from his pocket. “If she doesn’t have her legs crossed again.”

“Ah, you believe me then?” Teddy grinned and squeezed my hand.

“I do but only because I met your carrier. If anyone could be in two places at once and tell someone about the future it would be Lotus Cromwell,” Jacob chuckled as he slid his wand across my belly.

His eyes lit up before mine made sense of what the tiny monitor was showing us.

“Hello, Zinnia,” Teddy said, glancing at my belly.

“Hot damn,” Mori laughed. “I mean, I sort of believed you because it’s in my family lineage to know stuff ahead of time but damn.”

“She’s so beautiful,” I said as everything inside me hummed with my jaguar’s purrs. “She’s so tiny and beautiful.”

“Our little kitten,” Teddy nodded and leaned down over the sofa to kiss the top of my head.

***

After we knew for sure that our baby was Zinnia and not her brother, my carrier started hinting at the fact that he wanted me to come home to have my baby. Only I couldn’t imagine making the trip that far while pregnant. I couldn’t imagine Teddy’s first visit there occurring while I was pregnant either. I just didn’t see that ending well for anyone.

“But this place is starting to feel like home, Dad,” I said on video call with him one evening. “I know that’s not what you want to hear. I know this is temporary and eventually I’ll be back home. I’ll live there again and all of this will be a distant memory but I need to make these memories.”

“I wish you didn’t view coming home as a punishment to prepare for,” he frowned.

“It’s not a punishment. It’s a different phase of life and it’s one I’m not ready for. There’s so much I want to tell you but it’s not my business to talk about.”

“And if you tell me what’s up, you’re afraid I’ll tell Xenos,” Dad sighed.

“And you would,” I pointed out.

“Of course I would! I’d never forgive him if he knew something about you and didn’t tell me.”

“Whatever happened to privacy?”

“Uh…. You lived inside my body. What about my privacy?” he huffed.

“Um… Dad. One more thing like that and I’ll go. I didn’t have a choice about that. I didn’t stand beside the bed as a spirit and slip you an aphrodisiac. You had sex and I happened. Not a choice on my behalf. So, it’s not fair to use any fact about your pregnancy in an argument.”

“I’m sorry,” Dad said, frowning but at least he managed to apologize. “I worry about you so far from home. I worry about your baby too. What if she’s an omega and…”

“Nope. Not talking about that. We’re not going to hope the first born is an omega or alpha. We’re not going to hope anything except for her to be healthy. She’s a baby not the next step in your dynasty.”

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